The Solar Technology Center, of Applied Materials, in China consists of laboratories and office buildings spread over 400,000 square feet. The facility houses an entire Applied SunFab thin film-making line as well as an entire crystalline silicon pilot process plant.

The company said its total investment in the multi-phase project in Xi'an, China, is over $250 million.

The China-based Solar Technology Center includes centres for R&D in solar technology, engineering, as well as facilities for testing and training for crystalline silicon and thin-film solar module manufacturing equipment and processes.

According to Applied Materials, employees at the Solar Technology Center will work with local suppliers in order to test and qualify new materials and tools and also evaluate new cost-saving technologies.

In a statement, Charlie Gay, president of the Solar Technology Center, said the new facility in China will contribute in a big way towards reducing the costs of production of solar-energy production around the world.

The Solar Technology Center in Xi'an, China, has a 56-KW array on a parking lot structure.